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MicroStation XM Training Manual 2D Level 2

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MICROSTATION V8 XM
2D LEVEL 2 Module 4

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONING

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MicroStation V8 XM - 2D Level 2 Modules Copyright © 2006 Micro-Press.com
All rights reserved. Not parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
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consequential damages in connection with, or arising from, the use of the information contained herein.

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Microsoft Corporation.

Module Information
Prerequisites: Module 3 MicroStation - 2D Level 2

Introduction: This Module covers advanced dimension options not covered in the Level 1
course.

Objective(s): 4.1 Insert or remove dimensions within a dimension string.

4.2 Associate or unassociate dimensions from elements.
4.3 Place dimensions in rotated views.
4.4 Understand and apply Dimension Styles.
4.5 Saving Dimension Styles.
4.6 Placing Geometric Tolerances.
4.7 Plotting drawings at multiple scales.
4.8 Scalable Place Notes
4.9 Dimension Audit tool.
4.10 Annotation Scale

Time: This Module should be completed within 2 hours.

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DISCUSSION:

The first dimension option is the ability to add a dimension to an existing dimension. This is very useful
if your design changes or you have missed dimensioning an element in a dimension string.

4.1 WORKING WITH INSERT VERTEX AND DELETE VERTEX

Draw the shape at the right and place only the upper
dimensions as shown. Use the Dimension Size with
Arrow tool to place the dimensions. The vertical lines
can be of any size. Make sure that Association Lock is
OFF in the tool settings window (you will use these
dimensions again in the next Section where you will
change the dimension associations).

Assume that you missed dimensioning the interior vertical line and would
now like to dimension it as part of the existing upper dimension string.
Instead of deleting the string and starting again, use the Insert Vertex tool
on the Modify tool box.

Step 1 Start the Insert Vertex tool.

Step 2 Data-point on the dimension string.
Step 3 Snap to the endpoint of the new line element.

A new extension line is inserted in the dimension string and the

dimension line adjusts to accommodate the added dimension .

Try additional examples of this on your own.

It is equally easy to remove dimensions from a dimension string. For this operation you use the
Delete Vertex tool. Using the same drawing:

Step 1 Start the Delete Vertex tool.

Step 2 Data-point on the extension line of a dimension that you want to remove.
Step 3 Data-point to accept the dimension removal (a reset will cancel the deletion).

The extension line and dimension text is removed and MicroStation automatically adjusts the
existing dimension line.

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4.2 DIMENSION ASSOCIATIONS

Normally you should place dimensions with the Association Lock turned ON. This ensures that
dimensions are “attached” to the elements they are dimensioning. If you forgot to turn Association
Lock on when you placed dimensions in a design, you can still associate them to their elements. The
tool to use is Reassociate Dimensions on the Dimensioning tool box.

The dimensions you placed in the previous Section should have been placed with Association Lock
off. If not, delete and replace the dimension string for this exercise, making sure that Association
Lock is OFF.

Step 1 Start the Reassociate Dimensions tool.

Step 2 Data-point on the dimension to be associated.
Step 3 Data-point to accept the association.

The end dimension is now associated with the

corner of the element. To prove this, do a stretch operation on the corner. The first
dimension should change in response to the stretched elements.

Dimensions can also be unassociated from their elements. There are two tools you
can use for this operation.

1. On the Drop tool box (on the Tools/Drop menu) is the Drop Association tool.
2. On the Groups tool box (Main tool box) is the Drop Element tool.

Each tool works slightly differently. The Drop Association tool simply drops the association and
does nothing to the dimension itself. On the other hand, the Drop Element tool (with Dimensions
selected) not only drops the association but also breaks up the dimension into individual elements.

Try each tool for yourself. Simply data-point on the dimension and accept the drop operation with
another data point.

4.3 DIMENSIONS AND ROTATED VIEWS

It is sometime difficult to correctly dimension some elements because

of their relative positions. A good example is shown at the right where
horizontal and vertical dimensions are simple to add to the three blocks,
but a True aligned dimension, as shown below, is not. Draw the three
blocks yourself, but don’t add the dimensions shown at the right.

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Now try to dimension the blocks as shown on the right. You will find
the dimensions much more difficult to place. Use the center snap to
locate the dimensions at the center of each block. You will be tempted
to use the True dimension alignment option, but you will find this ploy
doesn’t work because of the middle blocks’s offset.

One way to place these dimensions is to rotate the view so that the two
outer blocks are in a horizontal alignment. Do the following:

Step 1 Click on Rotate View in the View Controls bar (bottom-left of the view window).
Step 2 Select 2 Points as the rotation method in the Tool Settings window.

You will now data-point on two points that will define the X-axis of the rotated view.

Step 3 Snap to the center of the lower-left block.

Step 4 Snap to the center of the upper-right block

The view rotates so that the two outer blocks are in horizontal alignment. It is now easy to place the
two dimension strings with the standard View dimensional alignment. To return the view to its
normal rotation:

Step 1 Click on Rotate View in the View Controls bar (bottom-left of the view window).
Step 2 Select Unrotated as the rotation method in the Tool Settings window.

As soon as you select the Unrotated option, the view returns to its
normal orientation. This is a very useful feature and can be used for all
types of drawing operations.

The alternate way to place the same dimensions without rotating the
view, is to use the Insert Vertex tool you used in Section 4.1 above. Do
the following:

Step 1 Undo the dimension placements from the last exercise.

The view should be unrotated.
Step 2 Place an overall dimension on the two outer blocks using
the True alignment.

Step 3 Repeat this process and place a second overall dimension as

shown at the left.
Step 4 Start the Insert Vertex tool.
Step 5 Data-point on the dimension line of the lower dimension.
Step 6 Snap to the center of the middle block.

The Insert Vertex tool inserts a new extension

line in the lower overall dimension and breaks
the dimension into two parts, exactly as needed.

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4.5 DIMENSION STYLES

Clearly, it would be very useful to be able to save the attributes of a particular dimension style so
that it con be used again both in the current design and in other design files. As you will see, it is
very easy to save a dimension style and to import that style into another design file.

To save your current active dimension settings:

Step 1 Open the Dimension Settings box with Element/Dimension Styles.

Step 2 Click on the Create Dimension Style icon at the top of the box.
Step 3 Enter a Name and Description in the Create New Style dialog box.

The new style name now appears in the style display of the Dimension Styles box. You can make as
many styles as you need and you can quickly switch between styles though this box.

If you want to switch styles while placing dimensions, you

can do so in the Tool Settings window when a dimension
tool is active. Remember too, that clicking on the
magnifying glass icon in the Tool Settings window will
open the Dimension Styles dialog box.
You can change the dimension style of all elements with a
particular style to that of another style. To do so, right-
click on the style you want to change in the Dimension
Settings box and select the Remap Elements item. In the
dialog box that opens, select the style you want the
elements changed to.
TOOL TIP !
You can change the dimension style of all
dimensions with a particular style to that
of another style. To do so, right-click on
the style you want to change in the
Dimension Styles settings box and select
the Remap Elements item. In the dialog
box that opens, select the style you want
the elements changed to.

IMPORTING DIMENSION STYLES

You can import dimension styles from other design files. This avoids the tedium of creating
dimension styles for each new design file.

You can use an existing design file that contains the styles you need, or you can set up a design file
specifically for the purpose of storing various dimension styles for the type of work you do.

The import process is very easy:

Step 1 In the Dimension Styles dialog box, select Style/Import.

Step 2 Find and select an existing design file containing the styles you need.

The dimension styles contained in the fie are loaded into your design file, and you can select and use
the loaded styles.

4.6 GEOMETRIC TOLERANCING

Engineering drawings typically require tolerance dimensions and MicroStation provides two
methods for adding geometric tolerancing.

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DIMENSION SETTINGS

The tolerance dimension shown at the right was created using a

combination of settings in the Geometry/Tolerance and Text/Style
and Format tabs. Both are reproduced below.

In this case the in-line dimension text is set in the Text settings box, and the tolerance values are set
in the Tolerance settings box.

GEOMETRIC TOLERANCE TOOL

The second method is to build a Feature Control Frame in

which to place the tolerance information. The Geometric
Tolerance tool, located on the Tools/Dimension Tools/Misc
Dimensions tool box provides a selection of standard tolerancing
symbols.

On starting this tool, both the Geometric Tolerance symbols box and
the Text Editor boxes will open. The Geometric Tolerance box
offers the option of placing a leader and symbol with the Place Note
tool, or in plain text with the Text tool. If you don’t see the symbols
shown at the right, click on the Font menu and select font 101
Feature Control Symbols.

Selecting one of the tolerance symbols places that symbol in the Text Editor box.
You can now add the tolerance value after the symbol. Note that the symbol will
likely display as a single letter character, not the actual symbol. The example at
the right is using the fourth item on the upper row with a value of 0.05.
Additional symbols or text can be added to the text string and, if necessary, you
can add vertical lines to close the box.

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